"In medicine, cooling therapy is used as a neuroprotective treatment for serious conditions, e.g. following birth asphyxia or cardiac arrest. Cooling seems to protect neurons from damage that would otherwise have occurred after restricted blood flow, but the process behind this effect is poorly understood," explains Salvör Rafnsdóttir, medical doctor and PhD student. She is currently working on a study investigating which of the body's mechanisms and genes are activated when cells are cooled to 32°C. Salvör and her team have also identified a promising drug that seems to activate the body's cooling response without actually cooling. This discovery recently earned the team first prize in the 2023 University of Iceland Science and Innovation Competition.

Many people who have been involved in caring for young children will know the challenge of getting them to try and enjoy new foods. Grimaces, squirming and loud objections are a fact of life for a lot of parents trying to introduce their children to new foods. Often they lose heart and give up. At the University of Iceland, a current study is aiming to prevent or reduce food sensitivity in preschool children, as well as providing parents with tools to improve their home food environment. The women behind the research are Berglind Lilja Guðlaugsdóttir, PhD student in health promotion at the School of Education, her supervisor Professor Anna Sigríður Ólafsdóttir, and Sigrún Þorsteinsdóttir, recent doctoral graduate from UI.

Ants in Iceland, a home-made black hole, measuring hand strength and jumping, vocabulary solutions for cell phones, zebra fish in research and Icelandic and Faroese pop music are among the many subjects presented by scientists and students at the University of Iceland at the Researchers’ Night on Saturday 1 October between 1 and 6 pm. The European Researchers’ Night is open to all, and entry is free of charge.

The Researchers' Night was last held in 2019 due to the corona pandemic. RANNÍS, the Icelandic Centre for Research, organises the Researcher's Night events in Iceland, but similar events by the same name are held each year in many major European cities, always on the last Friday in September. The main objective of Researchers' Night is to show science and the scientists behind the research in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere to the general public, and to raise awareness of the work of researchers and their contribution to contemporary society.

The University of Iceland has partnered with the Landspítali University Hospital, Reykjavík University, the City of Reykjavík, Strætó, the National Olympic and Sports Association, university student councils, the Road and Coastal Administration and the Environment Agency in an initiative to boost the share of trips made using sustainable transport in the capital. Everyone in the University community is urged to leave the car at home and use more sustainable modes of transport, for both the personal and environmental benefits. 

Each week will have a specific theme. The first week will focus on 'micromobility', a term used for vehicles powered by human exertion or electricity which generally move at lower speeds than motorised vehicles. Examples include bicycles, e-bikes, e-scooters and skateboards. Over the next weeks, the focus will shift in turns to public transport (buses), cycling, health, and studded winter tyres.